KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- National number one women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah made amends for last year’s heartbreak by winning the Arctic Open 2025 title in scintillating style in Vantaa, Finland, today.
The second seeds thrashed Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi of Japan 21-7, 21-9 to claim their second title of the year in just 32 minutes at the Vantaan Energia Areena.
It was one-way traffic in the opening game as Pearly-Thinaah came out firing on all cylinders against the third-seeded Japanese pair, showcasing an aggressive attacking display and a series of exquisite shots to take an early 11-4 lead.
They maintained their dominance after the interval, extending the gap to 18-6 with a flurry of flamboyant and well-executed shots, before comfortably taking the first game 21-7 in 14 minutes.
World number two Pearly-Thinaah maintained their momentum in the second game and showed no mercy as they surged to an 11-3 lead before sealing the title 21-9, when Nakanishi failed to return Pearly’s shot.
Today’s result marked their sixth win in eight encounters against the Japanese pair since they first crossed swords in the Sydney International 2019 in Australia.
Pearly-Thinaah, runners-up at the 2025 World Championships, won their first title this year at the Thailand Open in May and finished runners-up at the Japan Open, Indonesian Open and Indonesian Masters.
At last year's Arctic Open final, they went down 12-21, 17-21 to China's Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning.
As champions this time, Pearly-Thinaah pocketed US$37,525 (about RM159,000) while Iwanaga-Nakanishi earned US$18,050 (about RM76,000).
Meanwhile, Thinaah said she was pleased with their display, adding that both players constantly reminded and supported each other throughout the match.
“We’ll enjoy a nice meal to celebrate today, then refocus and get ready for the Denmark Open,” she said in a brief statement from Badminton Association of Malaysia.
As the second seeds, Pearly-Thinaah will open their Denmark Open 2025 campaign, which kicks off this Tuesday until Oct 19, against Indonesia’s Rachel Allessya Rose-Febi Setianingrum.
-- BERNAMA
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